In the first half of 2025, benefiting from national subsidy policies and consumption upgrades, China's home appliance market witnessed significant recovery. According to AVC data, domestic home appliance retail sales grew 9.2% year-over-year in the first half, demonstrating strong growth momentum. However, while the overall market experienced growth, price competition remained fierce, with high-end and intelligent upgrades becoming key differentiators for companies to stand out. Meanwhile, uncertainties such as overseas market tariff barriers and logistics volatility continue to test companies' global operational capabilities. In such a market environment where "rising tides lift all boats" but "survival of the fittest" coexist, what kind of performance did Haier Smart Home deliver?
On August 28, Haier Smart Home released its 2025 interim report. The financial results showed that in the first half of 2025, Haier Smart Home achieved operating revenue of 156.494 billion yuan, up 10.2% year-over-year; net profit attributable to shareholders reached 12.033 billion yuan, up 15.6% year-over-year, with both revenue and profit hitting historical highs. Against the backdrop of industry pressure, Haier Smart Home achieved counter-cyclical growth through technological innovation.
**Technology Gap Leadership: Comprehensive Leadership from Original Technology to Patent Standards**
Haier Smart Home's "gap leadership" is not a single-dimensional advantage, but is reflected in comprehensive leadership across the entire chain from user insights and technology R&D to product implementation and standard formulation.
First is the leadership in original technology, generating industry firsts where "others don't have what we have" and phenomenal bestsellers where "others have but we excel." Addressing users' ultimate pursuit of healthy food preservation, Haier refrigerators pioneered magnetic control fresh technology, which intervenes in food molecular movement through magnetic fields, achieving preservation effects where fresh meat remains tender and red after 10 days of refrigeration. This technology helped boost its refrigerator business market share by an additional 2.3 percentage points on top of its industry-leading position. Targeting air conditioning energy consumption pain points, its AI smart energy-saving technology can reduce daily power consumption to as low as 2 kWh. Air conditioners equipped with this technology in the Net Power Saving series sold over 1.1 million units in the first half, making it the only brand among the top 3 to achieve both volume and value growth.
In the high-end market, Casarte's Neutron Fusion integrated washer-dryer with AI visual recognition technology captured over 95% market share in the 20,000+ yuan price segment just two months after launch.
Second is leadership in invention patents, driving effective transformation from quantity leadership to solving user pain points. In the first half of 2025, Haier Smart Home continued to maintain its leading position in global smart home invention patents. Its patent portfolio closely aligns with user needs. For example, addressing users' problem of forgotten laundry developing odors, Haier washing machines developed and applied patented "Wind Cruise" technology, which prevents odors through timed air circulation. This technological innovation helped increase its washing machine market share by another 1.5 percentage points. To date, Haier Smart Home has ranked first globally in smart home invention patents for 13 consecutive years, effectively converting patent advantages into product advantages.
Finally, there's comprehensive leadership in industrial design, industry standards, and national recognition. In design, in the first half of 2025, Haier Smart Home's Casarte E-series European washing machines, Haier central control wave washing machines, and other products won the 2025 Red Dot Design Awards, with cumulative international design gold awards reaching 6, continuing to rank first in the industry. In standard formulation, in the first half of 2025, the international standard ISO25732 led by the company was successfully approved for project establishment. The company has cumulatively led and participated in the release of 116 international standards and 840 national/industry standards, making it the only Chinese home appliance company to undertake secretariat work for the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) technical subcommittee. At the national recognition level, it has cumulatively received 17 National Science and Technology Progress Awards, ranking first among domestic home appliance companies.
**Innovation Driving Force: User-Driven, Global System, and Continuous Investment**
The reason Haier Smart Home can continuously output original technology lies in its construction of an innovation power system that starts with users, is powered by a global system, and fueled by continuous investment.
The starting point of innovation is user-driven. Haier Smart Home's R&D logic is not about working behind closed doors, but begins with deep insights into user needs. For example, after the Leader brand discovered young users' need to wash different clothes separately and simultaneously, it developed the industry's first "three-drum lazy washing machine," becoming a phenomenal bestseller. When the industry just began imitating and positioning, Leader had already completed delivery of 100,000 units, achieving a commanding market lead.
The engine of innovation is the globalized "10+N" R&D system. This system integrates 24,000 global R&D personnel and resources from over 250,000 external experts, forming an innovation network that responds to global user needs 24/7. This system not only outputs products but also improves full-process efficiency through digital tools. According to the financial report, digital applications optimized the company's sales and administrative expense ratio by another 0.1pct. Its self-developed digital marketing large model generated 1.49 billion yuan in retail sales conversion in the first half, while the overseas HeS sales integration digital platform helped improve customer operational efficiency by 30%.
The fuel for innovation is investment of over 100 billion yuan in R&D funding. Previously, Haier Group established a Science and Technology Committee, investing 60 billion yuan in R&D expenses and 40 billion yuan in specialized industry funds, totaling 100 billion yuan for core technology research. This high R&D investment ultimately proved its effectiveness in the global market. According to the financial report, against the backdrop of North American major appliance industry shipments declining 0.8% year-over-year, Haier Smart Home achieved counter-cyclical growth of 2.4%. In the European four-country white goods industry sales environment growing 2% year-over-year, its growth rate reached 24.07%.
Technology gap leadership ultimately translated into sustained business growth. This conclusion is verified by data from Euromonitor International, the world's authoritative research institution: Haier Smart Home has ranked first globally in large household appliance brand retail volume for 16 consecutive years.